PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/TikTok video

How to Cite a TikTok Video in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for a TikTok video starts with the account's name and its handle in square brackets, then the caption in quotation marks as the title, TikTok in italics, the day, month, and year the video was posted, and the video's URL without https://. The in-text citation is the name alone: (World Health Organization).

The format

Account Name [@handle]. "Caption of the video." TikTok, Day Month Year, www.tiktok.com/@handle/video/#.

PERRLA MLA Experts · Updated October 27, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Paste the video's link into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA reads the link and fills in the @handle, the posting date, TikTok as the platform, and the URL. TikTok usually keeps the caption and the account's name from outside tools, so add those yourself: paste the caption into Post Content, and type the account's name next to the handle.

Adding one by hand? Choose Social Media, then A social media post. Set the role to Username (screen name), type the handle with its @ in the Name box, and the account's name in First and Last. For an organization like the World Health Organization, or a display name like Dr. Austin, type the whole name in Last and leave First empty. Paste the caption into Post Content, type TikTok in Platform Name, pick the posting date, and paste the URL. Leave Description of attached content empty, since MLA doesn't need it. Want an access date? Click Today under Retrieval Date, and PERRLA adds it to the end of the entry. PERRLA handles the quotation marks, the italics, the date format, and the URL.

Citing a TikTok profile instead? Paste the profile's link, and PERRLA sets up the profile reference with the handle, TikTok, and today's date. Type the account's name next to the handle. For MLA, change Page Title to Videos, the tab you're citing, and clear Page Description, which MLA doesn't use.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Account name and handle

MLA uses the name on the account as the author. For an organization, give its full name. When the handle is different from that name, add it in square brackets after the name, starting with the @ sign, and end with a period.

World Health Organization [@who].

For a person who goes by their own name, give it last name first. Many TikTok accounts use a display name instead, and MLA generally keeps it as the author, written the way the account shows it. The account @austinchiangmd belongs to gastroenterologist Austin Chiang but is named Dr. Austin, so the entry starts Dr. Austin [@austinchiangmd]. Treat a display name like that as one unit, the way MLA treats Dr. Seuss: keep the Dr. and don't flip the order. To name the real person, do it in your sentence.

If the handle simply repeats the name (Alicia Keys and @aliciakeys), MLA lets you leave the handle out, since the URL already points to the account.

2. Caption as the title

TikTok videos don't have titles, so the caption stands in for one. Put it in quotation marks, exactly as the creator wrote it: their spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and hashtags. The period goes inside the closing quotation mark.

"Touch a book pls #healthliteracy #literacy."

A long caption can be shortened. Keep the opening words and end with an ellipsis (three spaced periods), then the period that closes the title. Unlike APA, MLA has no 20-word cutoff.

"Don’t be fooled by flavours. Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and can quickly get you hooked . . . ."

Emojis are the exception. The MLA Style Center says to leave them out of the Works Cited entry. If an emoji matters to your point, describe it in your sentence instead.

No caption at all? Describe the video in your own words instead, with no quotation marks and no italics, like Video of a nurse demonstrating hand hygiene.

3. TikTok as the container

TikTok is the container, the site that holds the video, so its name goes in italics, followed by a comma.

TikTok,

4. Date

Give the day, month, and year the video was posted, in that order, followed by a comma. Abbreviate months longer than four letters (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.).

27 May 2026,

TikTok shortens dates. Videos from the last week show times like "5d ago," and videos from this year show only the month and day, like 5-27. Work out the full date before you write the entry.

5. URL and access date

End with the link to the video itself, not the creator's profile, and a period. A video link has the handle and /video/ in it. MLA drops the https:// from the front.

www.tiktok.com/@who/video/7644540575126916385.

Many platforms let creators edit a caption after posting, with no sign that it changed, so MLA suggests adding the date you viewed the video when that could matter. It goes at the very end: Accessed 27 Oct. 2026. A profile, which changes all the time and has no single date, should always get one.

Examples

A TikTok video from an organization

A World Health Organization video for World No Tobacco Day about nicotine in flavored e-cigarettes. The caption runs to about sixty words, so the title keeps the first two sentences and ends with an ellipsis. The British spelling "flavours" stays, because the caption is reproduced as written.

  • In-text citation(World Health Organization)
  • Narrative citationAs the World Health Organization warns, …

A TikTok video from an individual creator

A health literacy video from gastroenterologist Austin Chiang, whose account is named Dr. Austin. MLA goes by the name on the account, so the entry starts with Dr. Austin and the handle in brackets. The short caption keeps both hashtags.

  • In-text citation(Dr. Austin)
  • Narrative citationAs Dr. Austin puts it, …

A TikTok caption with an emoji

Another Dr. Austin video, on hospital closures. The caption has a pleading-face emoji after "over the years." MLA leaves emojis out of the Works Cited entry, so the title skips it and keeps the words and both hashtags around it.

  • In-text citation(Dr. Austin)
  • Narrative citationDr. Austin points out that …

A TikTok profile

To cite a whole account instead of one video, cite its profile. The title is the name of the tab you're citing, Videos, in quotation marks. A profile has no posting date and changes over time, so the entry ends with the date you viewed it.

  • In-text citation(World Health Organization)
  • Narrative citationThe World Health Organization's TikTok account …

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation for a TikTok gives the first word or words of the Works Cited entry, which is usually the account's name. Use the name, not the handle, and no date.

  • Organization: (World Health Organization)
  • Individual creator: (Dr. Austin)
  • Name in your sentence: no parenthetical is needed: Dr. Austin urges his followers to pick up a book.
  • A quote from what someone says in the video: add the time where the quote starts, in hours, minutes, and seconds, the way your player shows it: (Author 00:00:15). With the name in your sentence, the time goes alone in parentheses at the end.
  • Two videos from the same account: add a short version of each caption, in quotation marks, after a comma. Cite both Dr. Austin videos above in one paper, and they become (Dr. Austin, "Touch a book pls") and (Dr. Austin, "Sadly there have been more hospital closures").

In your Works Cited list, a TikTok entry is alphabetized by the account's name, like any other source.

Common mistakes

  • Chiang, A. [@austinchiangmd]. (2026, August 21). Touch a book pls #healthliteracy #literacy [Video]. TikTok.Dr. Austin [@austinchiangmd]. "Touch a book pls #healthliteracy #literacy." TikTok, 21 Aug. 2026,That's APA. MLA uses the account's name as it appears, puts the caption in quotation marks instead of italics, italicizes TikTok, drops [Video], and moves the date after the platform.
  • (Dr. Austin, 2026)(Dr. Austin)MLA in-text citations don't use the year. A TikTok has no page numbers, so the name stands alone, or the name and a time stamp.
  • "Dr. Austin on TikTok." TikTok, 21 Aug. 2026,"Touch a book pls #healthliteracy #literacy." TikTok, 21 Aug. 2026,That's the preview title TikTok gives shared links and outside tools. The caption under the account's name is the title.
  • "Touch a Book Pls #Healthliteracy #Literacy.""Touch a book pls #healthliteracy #literacy."A caption used as a title is reproduced exactly as the creator wrote it. Don't switch it to title case or fix its spelling.
  • TikTok, August 21, 2026, https://www.tiktok.com/@austinchiangmd/video/7676486723429354783TikTok, 21 Aug. 2026, www.tiktok.com/@austinchiangmd/video/7676486723429354783.MLA puts the day before the month, abbreviates long months, drops https:// from the URL, and ends the entry with a period.

Quick checklist

  • Account name, then the @handle in square brackets if it's different
  • The caption in quotation marks, as written, minus any emojis
  • A long caption shortened with an ellipsis at the end
  • TikTok in italics, then the day, month, and year
  • The video's own link, without https://, ending with a period
  • An access date for a profile, or a caption that could change
  • In-text: the name alone, or the name and a time stamp

Questions students ask

Can I cite a TikTok in an academic paper?

Yes. MLA cites social media posts like any other source, and a TikTok is the right source when the video itself is what you're discussing, like how a health agency talks to teens or how a claim spread online. For a factual claim, cite the study or report behind it, and ask your instructor if you're not sure a TikTok will count.

Do I need an access date for a TikTok in MLA?

It's optional for a video, but MLA suggests one when the caption could be edited after posting, since an edit leaves no visible trace. Add Accessed 27 Oct. 2026. at the very end, with the date you viewed it. A profile changes constantly, so always give one there.

What if the TikTok has no caption?

Write a short description of the video in place of the title, with no quotation marks and no italics: Account Name [@handle]. Video of a nurse demonstrating hand hygiene. TikTok, … MLA uses a description for any untitled source.

How do I cite a TikTok Live?

Start with the account's name and handle, give the stream's title in quotation marks, then TikTok, the date, and the URL, and end with the words Live stream as a final element. If the stream was saved and you're citing the recording, cite it like any other video.

Should I shorten a long TikTok caption?

You can use the whole caption, or cut it after the opening words and end with an ellipsis (three spaced periods). Keep enough words that your reader can find the video and tell it apart from the account's other posts.

Is a TikTok cited differently from an Instagram Reel?

The format is the same: name and handle, the caption in quotation marks, the platform in italics, the date, and the URL. Only the container changes, to Instagram. See our guide to Instagram posts and Reels.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements, including 5.28–5.29 on descriptions and text from the work as the title) and chapter 6 (in-text citations), and the MLA Style Center's posts on citing social media, citing TikTok, access dates for social media posts, live streams, emojis in titles of posts, Dr. in names like Dr. Seuss, and URLs (no https://). Example videos are the APA guide's verified sources, re-checked on TikTok on October 27, 2026: each caption, account name, handle, and posting time read from the video page, with dates matched to the time stamp in each video's ID, and the WHO profile's name and bio read from the profile page.

PERRLA builds the TikTok entry from your details, with the handle in brackets, the caption in quotation marks, and the date in MLA order.

Try PERRLA free for 7 days